It is current opinion that the transformation of the EU into a regime with supranational character initiated by the Maastricht Treaty has effects on the legitimacy of the EU. First, this process brings about a politicization of the EU confronting it not only with economic efficiency criteria, but also with democratic standards. Second, citizens become aware of the EU's democratic deficit and this leads to an erosion of support for the EU. Both assumptions are not confirmed by the empirical analyses. Satisfaction with the performance of the EU hasn't declined after the Maastricht Treaty and causal analysis shows that the EU is still evaluated on the basis of instrumental standards. Citizens continue to see their own nation state as bench mark for democratic standards and the evaluation of democracy in the EU can be understood as a generalization of satisfaction with democracy in one's own country. The question is whether the EU can do without mobilizing support based on democratic standards in the long run. But such a mobilization would require an institutionalization of European democracy.